Monday’s victory over Los Angeles was certainly a move forward for the Winnipeg Jets, but it was hardly a statement that the team is on the other side of their recent issues.
With seven games remaining in the regular season schedule, and positioning within the Central Division still slightly clouded — at least for a few more games — what the Jets do to follow up their first win in seven drips with intrigue as their week progresses.
Leading up to Monday’s game, head coach Rick Bowness was not shy about demanding more from the upper crust of his team, saying, “We certainly need more from certain players.”
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And if those in question were the likes of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Neal Pionk, and to some degree, Josh Morrissey, then the internal edict and public message was duly noted.
Connor and Morrissey both had multiple-point nights, Scheifele was a bull in the faceoff circle at over 70 per cent effective and grinding to win puck battles all night, and Pionk was back to skating, hitting, shot blocking and moving the puck in his over 21 minutes of ice time.
All told, it was without question an encouraging sign, but a singular moment. And if Winnipeg wants to stop limping into the playoffs and even continue a desire for a higher seeding in the division, then they’ll need to compound Monday’s result without delay.
That’s why Thursday’s contest with Calgary carries with it an added layer of importance, at the very least to allow Winnipeg to hang on to what they currently have as third-place residents in their division.
Otherwise, the celebration of Monday’s win will be brief. And instead of another move forward, the Jets will find themselves trying to side-step more of their recent issues.
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